Prefabricated form for composition walls



United PREFABRICATED FORM FOR COMPOSITION WALLS This invention relates to prefabricated forms for composition walls and refers more particularly to improved means for holding adjacent wall forming panels in end to end relationship.

It is an object of this invention to provide a prefabricated form with separable Wall forming panels having walers extending lengthwise of the panels at the outer sides thereof and having adjacent ends removably held in assembled relationship by means coacting with the the walers.

In accordance with this invention the walers are constructed to removably support stirrup pins at spaced points along the length thereof, and the stirrup pins have head portions which cooperate to clamp a brace against the outer sides of adjacent panels. The arrangement is such that the brace assists in supporting the load applied to the panels by the composition material during the pouring operation, and in addition may serve as a catwalk for workmen.

In addition, the walers are constructed to coact with a clamp having relatively slidable sections respectively engageable with means at adjacent ends of the walers and having provision for relatively moving the sections in directions to effectively clamp adjacent ends of the panels together.

It is another object of this invention to provide a structure of the above type wherein the walers comprise vertically spaced bars providing for the passage of tie bars therebetween and wherein the stirrup pins have depending legs at the outer sides of the waler projecting downwardly through openings in the outer ends of the tie bars.

The foregoing as well as other objects will be made more apparent as this description proceeds especially when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a prefabricated form for composition walls embodying the features of this invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary cross sectional view through the construction shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary enlarged elevational view of a part of the structure shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through the clamp shown in Figure l; and

I Figure 5 is a cross sectional view through the waler shown in Figure 1.

In Figure 1 of the drawing, the numeral designates a part of a prefabricated form comprising laterally spaced walls 11 between which a composition material such, for example, as concrete may be poured and allowed to set in order to provide a building wall structure. The walls 11 are composed of panels 12 of convenient size and each panel comprises a frame structure 13 and a sheet 14 secured to the inner side of the frame structure. The frame structure 13 for each panel 12 comprises laterally spaced vertically extending studs 15 and a cross member 16 connecting the studs at the top of the panel. A similar cross member (not shown) is rates atent preferably provided for connecting the vertical studs 15 at the bottom of the latter. In use, a plurality of panels 12 are removably clamped together in end to end relationship so that the inner sides of the sheets 14 of adjacent panels cooperate to provide continuous and uninterrupted wall forming surfaces.

In addition, each panel 12 has a waler 17 positioned at the outer side thereof adjacent the top and extending lengthwise of the panel from one end of the latter to the other. If desired, each panel 12 may further be provided with a second waler positioned at the outer side of the panel adjacent the bottom of the latter. This second waler may be identical in construction to the waler 17 and hence is not shown herein.

The top waler 17 on each panel 12 comprises a pair of angle bars 18 having horizontal flanges 19 and having vertical flanges 20. The angle bars 18 are relatively positioned in the manner shown in Figure 2 of the drawing wherein it will be noted that the flanges 19 are ar ranged adjacent one another and extend inwardly with respect to the outer surface of the frame structure 13. The vertical flanges 20 lie in a common vertical plane and the studs 15 are slotted to receive the flanges. It will also be noted from Figures 2 and 5 that the horizontal flanges 19 are spaced vertically from one another and are secured together at longitudinally spaced points by fastener elements 21 in the form of studs. The studs have threaded portions at the outer ends for engagement with suitable clamping nuts 22 and have enlargements 23 intermediate the ends acting as spacers between the flanges 19 The walers 17 are secured to the respective panels in a manner such that the waler of one panel forms in effect a continuation of the waler of the adjacent panel when the panels are assembled to form a wall 11. This coin struction renders it possible to secure adjacent ends of the panels together by a clamp 24 extending between the adjacent ends of the walers 17 on adjacent panels. As shown in Figure 4 of the drawing, the clamp 24 comprises a supporting section 25 and a sliding section 26. The supporting section 25 comprises vertically spaced plates 27 having vertical flanges 28 extending in opposite directions from the inner edges thereof and adapted to have a bearing engagement with the outer surfaces of the flanges 20 on the angle bars 18 of the walers 17. A hook 29 projects laterally inwardly from one end of the supporting section and is adapted to extend between the angle bars 18 of one of the walers 17. The section 26 is in the form of a plate slidably supported between the plates 27 of the supporting section 25 and a hook 30 projects laterally inwardly from the section 26 in opposed relation to the hook 29 on the supporting section 25.

The plates 27 and the section 26 are provided with registering slots elongated in the direction of sliding movement of the section 26 and adapted to receive a vertical wedge 31 having the opposite side edges converging from the top of the wedge to the bottom of the latter. The opposite side edges of the wedge respectively engage the sections of the clamp at opposite ends of the slots so that downward movement of the wedge 31 relatively moves the sections of the clamp toward one another.

In use, the clamp 24 is placed in the postion thereof shown in Figures 1 and 4 of the drawing wherein the flanges 28 on the supporting section 25 bridge the adjacent ends of the walers 17 on adjacent panels 12 and have a bearing engagement with the vertical flanges .20 of the walers. Also in the above position of the clamp 24, the hooks 29 and 30 respectively engage the enlargements or spacers 23 associated with the fastener elements 21 at the adjacent ends of the walers 17. After the 3 clamp 24 is located in the above manner the wedge 31 is forced downwardly to relatively move the sections of the clamp toward each other and thereby securely clamp the adjacent ends of the panels 12 in abutting engagement. It is apparent from the foregoing that the clamp 24 may be readily disengaged by merely forcing the wedge 31 in an upward direction sufiiciently to permit the necessary relative movement of the sections of the il7amps to disengage the hooks from the adjacent walers The panels 12 of the opposed walls 11 are tied together by tie rods 32 extending through openings 33 formed in the sheets 14 of the panels 12. One of the tie rods 32 is shown in detail in Figure 2 of the drawing and it will be noted that the outer ends of the rod 32 project between the angle bars 18 of the walers 17 and are formed with openings 34. The tie rod 32 is held in place by pins 35 having head portions 37 and having laterally spaced vertical legs 38 and 39 extending downwardly from the head 37 of each pin. The legs 38 are of suflicient length to extend across the outer surfaces of the vertical flanges 20 on the angle bars 18 and have a bearing engagement with the flanges 20. The legs 39 are relatively short and have a bearing engagement with the inner surface of the flanges 20 on the top angle bars 18. The construction is such that the legs 39 cooperate with the legs 38 to retain the pins 35 in assembled relationship with the adjacent walers 17. It will also be noted from Figure 2 that the lower ends of the legs 38 are tapered slightly to enable extending the same through the openings 34 at the ends of the tie bar 32 and thereby secure the latter in place.

Referring again to Figure 2 of the drawing, it will be noted that each pin 35 has a stirrup 40 in the form of a plate welded or otherwise permanently secured to the top or head portion 37 of the pin. In use the stirrups 40 of the pins 35 project laterally outwardly from the outer side of the adjacent panel frames 13 and are provided with upstanding flanges 41 at the outer edges thereof.

In Figure 1 of the drawing it will be noted that stirrup pins 35 are supported on the walers 17 of adjacent wall panels at opposite sides of the joint provided between adjacent ends of the panels. The stirrups 40 of the pins are arranged to lie in a common plane and support elongated braces 42. The braces 42 extend lengthwise of adjacent panels across the joint between the adjacent ends of the panels and the inner edges of the braces are held in clamping engagement with the outer edges of the studs 15 of the adjacent frames 13 by the upstanding flanges 41 on the stirrups 40 of the pins 35. The upper ends of the flanges 41 are flared laterally outwardly to provide a pilot to assist wedging the braces 42 between the flanges 41 and the adjacent outer sides of the frames 13. secured in end to end relationship by the clamp 24 and are prevented from bowing outwardly during the pouring operation by the brace 42. It is important to note that the braces 42 are of sufficient width to provide a catwalk along the walls of the form.

Attention is called to the fact that the nature of the stirrup pins 35 is such that these pins may be supported on the walers 17 at any desired point along the length of the walers and are not dependent on the presence of a tie rod for holding the same in position. Thus, the braces 42 may be supported from the walers at any selected point along the walers regardless of the location of the tie rods and regardless of whether tie rods are used. In cases where the braces 42 are omitted or where the use of stirrup pins is not required, pins 44 may be used. The pins 44 are identical to the pins 35 except that the stirrups 40 are omitted.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. A prefabricated form for composition wall structrues, comprising laterally spaced walls each including It follows from the above that the panels 12 are wall sections arranged in end to end relationship, the wall sections of each wall including panels having contiguous coplanar wall forming surfaces at the inner sides thereof, rigid vertical frame members extending along the ends of each wall section at the outer side of said panel, horizontally extending walers respectively secured to the frame members of said wall sections of one wall in substantial alignment with each other and additional horizontally extending walers respectively secured to the frame members of said wall sections of the other wall in substantial alignment with each other, the walers on the wall sections of one of said walls being in the same horizontal plane as the walers on the wall sections of the other of said walls, stirrup pins on the walers on the wall sections of each wall spaced longitudinally of said wall from said frame members, said pins being supported on said walers against shifting movement transversely of said walls, said pins having head portions at the top, flanges extending upwardly from the respective head portions and spaced outwardly from the outer sides of said frame members, means for aligning the wall sections of said walls including rigid elongated braces extending horizontally across the joints between the wall sections of the respective walls, said braces being seated on the head portions of said pins and being wedged between the upwardly extending flanges on said pins and the outer sides of said frame members, and tie rods spaced from said frame members longitudinally of said walls and extending across the space between said walls and through openings in the panels of the wall sections of each wall, the opposite ends of said tie rods being connected direct- 1; to said pins on the spaced walls and providing a rigid connection therebetween. I

2. A prefabricated form for composition wall struc tures, comprising laterally spaced walls each including wall sections arranged in end to end relationship, the wall sections of each wall including panels having contiguous coplanar wall forming surfaces at the inner sides thereof, rigid vertical frame members extending along the ends of each wall section at the outer side of said panel, horizontally extending walers respectively secured to the frame members of said wall sections of one wall in substantial alignment with each other and additional horizontally extending walers respectively secured to the frame members of said wall sections of the other wall in substantial alignment with each other, the walers on the wall sections of one of said walls being in the same horizontal plane as the walers on the wall sections of the other of said walls, each waler being composed of vertically spaced, upper and lower horizontal bars secured together at longitudinally spaced points, stirrup pins supported on the walers on the wall sections of each wall spaced longitudinally of said wall from said frame members, said pins having head portions at the top and having laterally spaced depending inner and outer legs, the outer legs extending downwardly along the outer sides of said upper and lower bars and the inner legs extending downwardly along the inner sides of said upper bars, flanges extending upwardly from the respective head portions and spaced outwardly from the outer sides of said frame members, means for aligning the wall sections of said walls including rigid elongated braces extending horizontally across the joints between the wall sections of the respective walls, said braces being seated on the head portions of said pins and being wedged between the upwardly extending flanges on said pins and the outer sides of said frame members, and tie rods spaced from said frame members longitudinally of said walls and extending across the space between said walls and through openings in the panels of the wall sections of each wall, the opposite ends of said tie rods projecting between the bars of the walers on the wall sections of each wall, said tie rods having openings through their opposite ends respectively receiving the outer depending 4. A prefabricated form as defined in claim 3 in which said braces are of sufiicient width to provide catwalks at the outer sides of the respective wall sections.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Holman Mar. 29, 1910 Arrighini et al Oct. 17, 1950 

